The European Commission has been prompted by Amnesty International to take action against TikTok, urging the enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA) to address the platform’s potentially harmful design features.
On Friday, Lisa Dittmer, a researcher with Amnesty International, emphasised the importance of safeguarding children’s rights in the digital landscape. She stated that while discussions about limiting children’s access to social media platforms are underway, governments must also focus on mitigating the harmful design features of these platforms rather than merely restricting access.
The rights organisation’s appeal follows the European Commission’s preliminary findings indicating that TikTok has violated the DSA. This regulation aims to ensure online services protect the fundamental rights of citizens and consumers.
The Commission noted that TikTok’s features, such as an endless stream of content, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalised recommendation algorithms, foster excessive use. The algorithm powering TikTok’s “For You” feed curates content based on user engagement, leading to a compulsive scrolling behaviour that diminishes user control.
Furthermore, the Commission expressed concern that TikTok has not adequately assessed the adverse effects of its features on users’ physical and mental well-being, particularly for minors and vulnerable individuals. It criticised the platform’s existing measures to counteract addictive behaviour, stating that tools for managing screen time are often easily ignored, and parental controls require additional effort from parents to set up effectively.
To address these issues, the Commission has suggested that TikTok reconfigure essential elements of its design. Recommendations include disabling addictive features such as “infinite scroll,” implementing practical “screen time breaks” particularly at night, and revising its recommendation system.
Amnesty International France has previously reported that TikTok’s algorithm leads young users towards harmful content, including material related to self-harm. Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy, emphasised the potential negative impacts of social media addiction on developing minds, underscoring the responsibility platforms have under the DSA regarding their influence on users.
The Commission’s current evaluation of TikTok’s design is part of a broader investigation into the platform’s adherence to the DSA, which commenced on February 19, 2024. Additionally, in October, the Commission found TikTok in violation of the DSA for failing to provide researchers access to public data.
